Pogket-knife



(No Moae1.)

J. V. PILGHER.

' POGKBTAKNIPE. No. 416,946. -Patented Dee. 10,1889'.`

@6% www UNITED STATES lPATENT OFFICE. d

JOHN V. PILCHER, OF LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY.

POCKET-KNIFE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 416,946,6.ated December 10, 1889. Application filed April 19, 1889. Serial No. 307,742. (No model.)

' citizen of the United States, residing at Louisville, in the county of Jefferson and State of Kentucky, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pocket-Knives; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,

such as will enable others skilled in the artA to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to that class of knives which are provided with blades hinged to the handle, so that they may be opened or closed, and which are further provided with springs for automatically holding the blades either opened or closed; and its object is to provide means whereby a series of blades are made interchangeable in one and the same handle, means whereby the blade may be relieved from the tension of the spring for the purpose of removal, and whereby the spring Vmay be held out of action until the same or another blade is reinserted in the handle.

To this end my invention consists in the construct-ion and combination of parts forming a pocket-knife hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which* Figure I is a side elevation of a portion of a two-bladed knife according to my invention, showing the preferred form o'f spring at the right-hand end. Fig. II is a plan View of the same, looking upon the back and showing a pin supporting the spring, also showing the handle in full. Fig. III represents another blade, showing one of the many forms of blades which may be made interchangeable in the same handle. Fig. IV represents the shank of a knife-blade and the adjacent end of the spring on an enlarged scale for the purpose of clearly showing the characteristics of the invention, three modifications of the spring being shown in this one.

5 represents one side portion of the handle; 6, one or more hinge-pins iixed in the handle across the hollow or slot in which t-he blades 7 are to be held.l

8 is a common spring secured in the back of the handle by any 'usual means, such as a rivet 9.

The bearing-hole 10 in the blade is a little larger than the hinge-pin 6; but the slot l1, leading from the bearing forward and downward to the lower edge of the shank, is just wide enough to permit the said pin to pass through it and out of the blade. The bearing-hole is made larger than the pin and the width of the slot in order to leave small shoulders 12 to lessen the tendency of the blade to creep back on the pin in being opened or shut. To further check this tendency of the blade to creep off the pin, I provide a knob 13, projecting from the lower side of the spring at the rear end of the shank, against which the rear end of the shank bears in rotation.

15 16 represent the corners of the usual square-ended shank; but I prefer the rounded end shown, having its greatest radius from the pivot 6 at the center `141 of the end. When the blade is turned straight downward, the spring will be raised to its highest point of movement. Then a common pin 29, needle, or tack, or any similar small stiff object, may be placed in the hole 18 and across the back of the handle to prevent the spring from r`e` turning. Then the blade may be carried nearly back to the handle and be easily slid forward off from its hinge-pin, as shown at the right in Fig. 1. By reversing the order of movements the same or another blade may be placed in the handle and onto the pin 6. Then by turning the blade straight down the spring will be a little raised-enough to relieve the blocking-pin, which may be then removed-and the knife is again ready for use.

18 represents a pin-hole through the spring.

19 represents a deep notch in the side of the spring capable of receiving enough of a pin 29 when the notch is above the back of the handle to hold the spring raised.

17 represents a notch in the end of the spring, and in order to be an equivalent of the hole 18 it must be cut so far into the spring that it will hold a pin 29, inserted through it over the straight back of the handle, so that the pressure of the spring would not crowd the said pin forward ont ofservice.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I believe to be new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is the following:

IOO

blade, substantially as shown and described, whereby a pin may be inserted into the said hole above the handleI to hold the spring raised. 15

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

' JNO. v. PILCHER.

Vitnesses:

I-I. C. DEMLITZ, GEO. PEARSON. 

